THE QUALITY OF DRINKING WATER IN POLAND

Abstract

The question of whether all Polish citizens do have access to safe and clean water is not rhetorical. Astudy conducted by TNS OBOP4 in 2009 shows that over 60% of Poles do not trust to drink water without prior boiling. Water flowing from the taps, although widely available, is judged to be polluted, with too much fluorine or not having the appropriate consumer values (colour, smell and taste). The current water treatment systems can however improve them, although such a treatment, i.e. mainly through chlorination of water, deteriorates its quality in relation to pure natural water. The result is that fewer and fewer Poles drink water directly from the tap. They also less and less use tap water to cook food for which the bottled water is trusted more. Reason for that is that society does not trust the safety of the water supplied by the municipal water companies. The question thus is: are they right? This article presents an analysis of the drinking water quality and the degree of access to water supply and sewerage system in Poland. For this purpose, the method of analysis of secondary statistical data was applied, mostly based on data available in the materials of the Central Statistical Office in Warsaw, the Waterworks Polish Chamber of Commerce in Bydgoszcz and the National Water Management in Warsaw. The results first allow assessing the level of water supply and sewage systems in the country and second drawing conclusions as to the quality of water available to the residents of Poland.